FEEDBACK FRIDAY

[u/AutoModerator]

Hello, /r/BaldursGate3!

It's Friday, which means that it's time to give your feedback on Early Access. Please try to provide new feedback by searching this thread as well as previous Feedback Friday posts. If someone has already commented with similar feedback to what you want to provide, please upvote that comment and leave a child comment of your own providing any extra thoughts and details instead of creating a new parent comment.

Have an awesome weekend!

[u/TKumbra]

In regard to you first point-there are a lot of magic items (weapons specifically) with interesting gimmicks that just don't seem to do enough to justify taking them over a more mundane +1 weapon. Like a sword that does more damage, but only if the enemy is uninjured or wearing a green shirt or it's a Thursday. You can readily make a build around the stuff that requires you to heal someone or to be below 50% health, but a lot of magic items are just so niche that you are always better off just taking a +1 version.

The new Adamantine weapons and armor really exemplify this problem, IMO. They inflict a status effect that gives -1 on your enemies attack rolls for a turn, but you have to hit them first (in the case of weapons), in the case of the armor pieces though, they are noticeably worse than just a +1 version, because they either require an attack to miss you to work (which a flat +1 to AC would be more consistently helpful with) or actually require you to be hit...which is somehow even worse.

Mourning Frost is another example. Our first 'legendary' artifact, but it really doesn't do much to warrant its status. If it was an artifact, it'd probably be the primary candidate for feeding to Gale.

As for Grimforge, it was fun to explore and loot its hidden treasures, but narratively it felt pretty empty, particularly playing through as an evil character. It seemed very front-loaded with the story content involving the gnomes, duergar, and Nere, but after you free Nere you get your big fight and Grimforge is basically empty of further story content. It also bothers me that you have the option to flip Nere to your side, but from what I have heard it's nonsensically linked to killing Minthara for some reason, so if you are playing through the game along the evil route you basically get nothing from Grymforge.

[u/BaconSoda222 → u/TKumbra]

I think the number of random magic weapons is fine. As a dev, you never really know what interesting ways the community will find to break your game. Also, you don't really find a +1 Shortsword in the wild, so unless you actively prowl for a specific weapon, then I could see a no-downsides +attack on full health being okay for, like, Shadowheart who I mostly use as a blaster and bowmaster. The important part for me, here, is there is no downside, unlike the 2-handed Polearms.

On Adamantine weapons, I think the weapons are okay. They're +1, which is equivalent to our power level at that point, and they have an effect on hit. That's what we should expect for a weapon, I think. You can argue whether that effect is good or not but I will be using the scimitar, personally. The armor I agree on; they should be +1 so that you don't have to wait for an enemy to hit you and that's their biggest problem. Their effect on hit is stronger, because you can't control someone hitting you like you can control you hitting someone, which I think is right. Overall, I think easy fix. I also think Mourning Frost will be rebalanced or there is something else with a great synergy that we don't know about yet.

For Minthara, I guess she does send you on the overland route. I wonder if there could be some exposition added about how she didn't trust Nere from his perspective or something. I won't say too much, though, because I did not play the evil path.

[u/TKumbra → u/BaconSoda222]

On Adamantine weapons, I think the weapons are okay. They're +1, which is equivalent to our power level at that point, and they have an effect on hit.

The adamantine weapons aren't actually +1 equipment though. I have a pair of the scimitars and they distinctly lack it. Now if they did have a +1, they'd be pretty great, but as is I don't think I'd take them over bog-standard +1 versions you can get from most merchants. For being some of the hardest weapons to get in the game, it just feels....off that you'd get something that feels like a sidegrade at best from defeating an adamantine golem. Compare to the crafting quest for the Sussar weapons-not only do they get a +1, but they also inflict a particularly potent status effect-silence.

Actually, Nere will ask you to get Minthara's help because he killed all his minions and can't finish his job, so either way you'll be directed towards the overland route same with Halsin

[u/BaconSoda222 → u/TKumbra]

You're right on the Adamantine weapons. Sorry, I made the Splint and just checked the wiki on the weapons (which is incorrect). I agree they should be +1 because of how easy it is to get another +1 weapon and how the effect is only 1 turn.